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VAT on fees policy leads to spike in EHCP applications
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Independent sector
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Councils have received an influx of funding requests from parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) ahead of the imposition of VAT on independent school fees, according to iNews. Speaking to the paper, local authority sources warned the increase in applications for education, health and care plans (EHCPs) could potentially push councils facing bankruptcy “over the edge”. Ed Duff, an education solicitor at the law firm HCB, added: “I’m getting dozens of people coming to me and saying they’re at the absolute limit of their budget paying for this privately. The VAT on top? They can’t do it.” By Connie Dimsdale.
The Charity Law Association has warned that forcing independent schools to pay full business rates "risks eroding a long-established principle that all charities have equal status under the law", paving the way for other charities to lose their benefits in the future. In a written submission to the Treasury's consultation over the VAT plans, the organisation, which represents more than 1,000 charity lawyers and accountants, said the policy could create “a two-tier charity sector in which all charities are equal in certain respects (e.g. the public benefit requirement), but some are more equal than others in other respects (e.g. for tax purposes)”. By Poppy Wood, The Telegraph.
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Parliamentary debates: SEND and VAT on fees
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SEND
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In a House of Commons debate on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision, Conservative MP for North West Norfolk James Wild said: "More than 100,000 pupils with special educational needs are educated at independent schools without EHCPs. How does the Minister think hitting those pupils with a 20% education tax, with more pupils moving into the state sector as a result, will help pressures on schools? What assessment has she made of the increase in EHCP applications that that will generate, putting further burdens on local authorities?"
In response, Catherine McKinnell, the minister for school standards, said: "Ending tax breaks on private schools will help to raise the revenue to fund our educational priorities for next year, including recruiting 6,500 new teachers. As he knows, the Treasury is consulting on plans to enable those changes to come into force in January and on how to design those plans to make sure that no child with special educational needs on an education, health and care plan will be adversely affected."
Conservative MP for Rutland and Stamford Alicia Kearns called for "urgent support" for councils dealing with an increase in applications for education, health and care plans (EHCPs), while Gregory Stafford, Conservative MP for Farnham and Bordon, explained how parents, governors and teachers he has met at independent schools are "unanimous that imposing an education tax partway through the academic year will have disastrous impacts on the education of every child, but especially those with special educational needs".
The VAT policy and its potential impact on children with SEND was also explored in a House of Lords debate. Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest (Conservative) warned that "an evitable consequence of VAT on fees will be a significant rise in tribunal cases", as parents struggle to find the right school for their children.
Baroness Barran (Conservative) described the decision to impose the tax from 1 January 2025 as "misguided", adding that it risks disrupting the education of children without an EHCP who receive specialist support in independent schools. In response, Baroness Smith of Malvern (Labour), the minister of state for the Department for Education, said: "I reiterate, as I have said on every single occasion, that local authority funding already supports the vast majority of pupils with EHCPs who attend independent schools, and they will not be impacted by the introduction of VAT for private schools."
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Mainstream schools could meet SEND needs of ‘tens of thousands’ more students, report suggests
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SEND
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The special educational needs of “tens of thousands” more pupils could be met without an education, health and care plan (EHCP) and in mainstream schools if reforms are successful, the schools minister Catherine McKinnell has said. The Department for Education released the first insight summary report from its Delivering Better Value in SEND programme, a financial intervention for councils with large high needs deficits. Ms McKinnell told MPs that the research indicated reforms could “pave the way for a sustainable system in which schools cater for all children, and special schools cater only for those with the most complex needs”. It comes after a report by the National Audit Office called on the new government to “explicitly” consider “whole-system” SEND reforms, warning the system is “financially unsustainable”. By Freddie Whittaker and Samantha Booth, Schools Week.
Ellen Peirson-Hagger writes for Tes on the SEND funding crisis, posing the question: "Is a new model of partnering a local authority and a MAT the way forward?" She considers whether a partnership between the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Ormiston Academies Trust - which led to the creation of Freston Junction, a specialist resource provision for young people with special needs - could be replicated nationwide.
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Fewer students on free school meals attending university, new figures show
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Higher education
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The gap between wealthier and poorer students going to university is at its largest since records began in 2010, according to figures from the Department for Education. The proportion of students on free school meals beginning university in the academic year 2022-23 decreased for the first time to 29 per cent from 29.2 per cent. The findings also show 67.8 per cent of pupils taking A levels at independent schools progressed to selective or "high tariff" universities, compared to 34.2 per cent of those from state schools. By Nicola Woolcock and Yennah Smart, The Times.
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Disposable vapes to be banned from June next year
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Health
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The sale of single-use disposable vapes will be banned in England, Wales and now Scotland from 1 June 2025, the government has confirmed. The move, which is intended to protect children's health and prevent environmental damage, was first announced in January by the previous government but was not enacted before the general election. Public health minister Andrew Gwynne said banning disposables would "reduce the appeal of vapes to children and keep them out of the hands of vulnerable young people". By Christy Cooney and Amy Walker, BBC News.
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The Independent Schools Council (ISC) monitors the national and educational press in order to keep independent schools up-to-date with relevant education news. The DNS is a service primarily for schools in membership of ISC associations, although other interested parties can choose to sign-up. We endeavour to include relevant news and commentary and, wherever possible, notable public letters. Where capacity allows, we may include links to ISC blogs, press statements and information about school or association events. News stories are selected based on their relevance to the independent sector as a whole. Editorial control of the DNS remains solely with the ISC.
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